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Struggle in the Fourth International. International Committee Documents 1951-1954, Volume 3 of 4 volumes

Towards a History of the Fourth International, Part 3, vol. 3 · March 1974 · edited by Fred Feldman

From Towards a History of the Fourth International, Part 3, vol. 3: Struggle in the Fourth International. International Committee Documents 1951-1954, Volume 3 of 4 volumes (Education for Socialists, Socialist Workers Party, New York, March 1974). Reproduced with the permission of Pathfinder Press. Scan: Encyclopedia of Trotskyism On-Line.

Introductory note

In 1953, sharp differences over Stalinism and organizational matters divided the Fourth International into two public factions, the International Committee of the Fourth International and the International Secretariat of the Fourth International. This division lasted until the Re-unification Congress of the Fourth International held in 1963.

The articles, documents, correspondence, and circulars published in these Education for Socialists bulletins are presented as an aid in tracing the evolution of this dispute. The material is divided into two parts. The first (Part Three of Towards a History of the Fourth International) is composed of four bulletins and contains materials from the International Committee. The second (Part Four of Towards a History of the Fourth International) consists of four bulletins containing material from the International Secretariat faction.

Both sets of bulletins begin with the discussion prior to the Third World Congress of the Fourth International held in 1951. They are divided into sections dealing with key stages in the development of the dispute. Each section opens with a brief introductory note. To the extent that these notes include historical interpretations or conclusions, the views expressed are my own.

The documents, correspondence, articles, and circulars have been subjected to minimal editing. In general the style, grammar, etc., have been retained as in the originals. Additions to the text for explanatory purposes appear in brackets.

The term "section" appears frequently in these documents. This word was used in two different senses within the world Trotskyist movement. On the one hand, it refers to those groups which are affiliated to the Fourth International. Secondly, it is used in reference to organizations that are barred from membership in the Fourth International by reactionary legislation, such as the SWP, but are in full political solidarity with the world Trotskyist movement and represent the continuity of Trotskyism in their countries.

The faction struggle in the world Trotskyist movement occurred when the McCarthyite witch-hunt was at its height in the United States. Similar manifestations of political repression appeared in other capitalist countries, as the ruling class sought to whip up anticommunist hysteria. In view of these sharp attacks on democratic rights, many radicals found it necessary to use pseudonyms or pen-names in carrying out their political activity. This was true of the Trotskyist movement as well. In line with a policy of printing this material as it originally appeared, these have generally not been changed. Instead, a glossary of these pen-names is included in each volume. Note that some individuals used more than one pen-name on occasion.

The 1953-54 dispute was worldwide in its scope and repercussions. Many parts of the Trotskyist movement that participated in the struggle are not represented in this collection. An instance of this is the lack of documentation from Latin America. Material from the dispute in the Latin American Trotskyist organizations is now being translated and will appear in a future volume.

This selection is based on the documents and correspondence presently available to the National Education Department of the Socialist Workers Party. Because of the speed with which the dispute developed, once the differences had become apparent to both sides, many aspects of the struggle are not fully dealt with in official documents. Therefore, it was necessary to include a considerable amount of correspondence to allow maximum clarity for the reader.

Hopefully, the publication of these bulletins will inspire others who were involved in the dispute to make available the relevant materials in their possession. Special thanks are owed to James P. Cannon, National Chairman Emeritus of the Socialist Workers Party, and Tom Kerry and Karolyn Kerry for making their personal archives available for this project.

Fred Feldman

February 1974

Contents

Section X: Declaring an International Public Faction

[The issuance by the SWP National Committee of the "Letter to Trotskyists Throughout the World" in the November 16, 1953 issue of *The Militant* marked the beginning of the public faction fight. This document, together with "Against Pabloite Revisionism," which appeared in the September-October issue of *Fourth International,* described the profound political and organizational cleavage that had developed. The International Committee of the Fourth International was formally declared by the English, French, and Swiss sections, with the SWP participating as observers. The document, "The Successive Stages of Pabloite Revisionism," written by French Trotskyists, is reprinted from *SWP Discussion Bulletin* A-17, 1954. It originally appeared in *International Committee Bulletin* No. 1, December 28, 1953. The editorial, "Fourth International Rallies Against Pablo," appeared in the December 21, 1953 issue of *The Militant.*]

  1. 1. "A Letter to Trotskyists Throughout the World"National Committee of the Socialist Workers Party (25th Anniversary Plenum) · pp. 132-137
  2. 2. Against Pabloist RevisionismSocialist Workers Party (25th Anniversary Plenum) · November 1953 · pp. 138-152
  3. 3. Resolution Forming the International CommitteeEnglish, French, New Zealand and Swiss sections of the Fourth International (signed Burns, Bleibtreu, Smith, Jacques) · Nov. 23, 1953 · pp. 153
  4. 4. The Successive Stages of Pabloite RevisionismFrench Trotskyists (PCI majority) · October 1953 · pp. 153-155
  5. 5. Fourth International Rallies Against PabloThe Militant (editorial) · December 21, 1953 · pp. 155-156
  6. 6. Letter from Farrell Dobbs to Cothinkers in England and FranceFarrell Dobbs (signed Smith) · December 3, 1953 · pp. 156

Section XI: The Twenty-Fifth Anniversary Plenum of the SWP, by James P. Cannon

  1. The Twenty-Fifth Anniversary Plenum of the SWPJames P. Cannon · December 5, 1953 · pp. 156-165

Section XII: The Chinese Experience with Pabloite Revisionism and Bureaucratism (A Letter to James P. Cannon), by Peng Shu-Tse

  1. The Chinese Experience with Pabloite Revisionism and Bureaucratism (A Letter to James P. Cannon)Peng Shu-tse (signed S. T. Peng) · December 30, 1953 · pp. 165-173

Section XIII: Pablo Declares a "Split"

[Before the Open Letter was issued, Pablo moved to exclude his factional opponents from the world Trotskyist movement. A November 15 letter from the Bureau of the International Secretariat (Frank, Germain, and Pablo) warned that they would "never permit" the SWP to expel the Cochran-Clarke-Bartell grouping for their disloyal acts. Such disciplinary measures, they warned, would "place them [the SWP] outside our movement." This letter appears in Part 4 of this collection. [With the appearance of the Open Letter, Pablo's supporters simply declared all supporters of the public faction to be "expelled" without awaiting a meeting of any official body. In Britain, the minority around John Lawrence announced the "expulsion" of Gerry Healy, and declared itself the "official section." This document also appears in a coming volume of International Secretariat materials. Lawrence's minority was expelled by the majority of the British Trotskyists for deliberately violating the discipline of the section. [The December 25-28 meeting of the International Executive Committee, which was attended only by Pablo supporters and the representatives of a few straddlers like the Ceylonese section, "suspended" all supporters of the "Letter to Trotskyists Throughout the World" from the Fourth International. It declared that the pro-Pablo minorities in England and the United States were the continuators of Trotskyism in those countries. The decisions of this plenum will also be found in Part 4 of this collection. [By these measures, Pablo made sure that his faction would dominate the "Fourth World Congress." The price of this "success" was the ten-year division of the world Trotskyist movement into two contending factions. [Despite Pablo's threat that solidarity with the International Committee meant expulsion from the International, the orthodox Trotskyists were successful in winning a large proportion of the Trotskyist forces to their public faction.]

  1. 1. Report on a Meeting of the French Pabloite Grouppp. 173-175
  2. 2. Letter from Gerry Healy to the British SectionGerry Healy (signed Mason) · Dec. 15, 1953 · pp. 175
  3. 3. Letter from Gerry Healy to the British SectionGerry Healy (signed Mason) · Dec. 28, 1953 · pp. 176
  4. 4. Letter from Gerry Healy to the British SectionGerry Healy (signed Mason, General Secretary BSFI) · Jan. 1, 1954 · pp. 176-177
  5. 5. Letter from Gerry Healy to Leslie GoonewardeneGerry Healy (signed Burns) · April 21, 1954 · pp. 177-179
  6. 6. Letter of Chinese Section to the "International Secretariat of the Pabloites"Central Committee of the Chinese Revolutionary Communist Party · March 7, 1954 · pp. 179-181

Section XIV: The Struggle in Canada

[The central leaders of the Canadian section were at first shocked by the issuance of the "Letter to Trotskyists Throughout the World." However, the open declaration of a faction had the effect of encouraging the leadership, especially Ross Dowson, to seriously consider and ultimately support the criticisms of Pablo's line made by the International Committee. [Supporters of Pablo in Canada then sought to endorse the decision of the Pabloist IEC suspending from the Fourth International all who expressed support for the International Committee. This would have meant suspending Dowson from membership in the section before the membership had a chance to discuss the issues involved. The Pablo faction, on the other hand, made it clear that a decision to support the International Committee by the section would be regarded as a "split" from the Fourth International. [Despite these pressures, the majority of the leaders and ranks of the Canadian section demanded a full discussion. As a result, the majority were won to support the policies of the International Committee. At this point, the minority split and declared itself the "section." [The article, "Pabloite Minority Split in Canada," by Ross Dowson is taken from *SWP Discussion Bulletin* A-17, 1954.]

  1. 1. Statement of Three Canadian LeadersKane [Ross Dowson], Fitzgerald, McAlpine · November 29, 1953 · pp. 182
  2. 2. Letter from Ross Dowson to Farrell DobbsRoss Dowson · December 2, 1953 · pp. 182-183
  3. 3. Letter from V. Olsen to Gerry HealyV. Olsen (signed V. Olson) · Jan. 10, 1954 · pp. 183
  4. 4. Minutes of Canadian Political Committee, January 31, 1954Political Committee of the Canadian section · January 31, 1954 · pp. 184-185
  5. 5. Letter from Murry Weiss to Farrell DobbsMurry Weiss (signed M.) · Feb. 18, 1954 · pp. 185-186
  6. 6. Letter from Farrell Dobbs to Ross DowsonFarrell Dobbs (signed Smith; addressed to 'Comrade Kane') · March 24, 1954 · pp. 186-188
  7. 7. Letter from Ross Dowson to Farrell DobbsRoss Dowson (signed Kane; addressed to 'Smith') · April 5, 1954 · pp. 188-189
  8. 8. Letter from Ross Dowson to the Canadian SectionRoss Dowson (signed Kane) · April 9, 1954 · pp. 190-191
  9. 9. "Pabloite Minority Split in Canada"Ross Dowson · April 9, 1954 · pp. 191-192

Glossary of pseudonyms

Harry Braverman:
Harry Frankel
James P. Cannon:
Walter, Martin
George Clarke:
Campbell, Livingstone, Livingston
Colvin R. DaSilva:
Roy
Farrell Dobbs:
Smith, Barr
Ross Dowson:
Kane
Leslie Goonewardene:
Tilak
Sam Gordon:
Tom, Harry, Burton, Joe
Joseph Hansen:
Herrick
Gerry Healy:
Burns, Mason, Jerry
John Lawrence:
Collins
Ernest Mandel:
Ernest Germain, Albert, Jeb
Sherry Mangan:
Patrice, Terrence Phelan, Patrick O'Daniel
George Novack:
Manuel, William F. Warde
Michel Raptis:
Michel Pablo, Gabe
David Weiss:
Stevens
Milton Zaslow:
Mike Bartell

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